Musings on a bike ride between Sha Tin and Tai Po

I really should do this more often. That's the sentiment that kept on popping into my head when I went bike riding in the New Territories
for the first time in over a year. And this even though the afternoon I
chose to do so had overwhelmingly gray skies and occasional sprinklings
of precipitation.

As
unlikely as it may seem, there were quite a number of people out
bicycling that day. I guess it helped that the temperature was actually
pretty pleasant: warm enough for the likes of me to go about in
shirtsleeves (just days after it felt cold enough for me to need to put
on my Norwegian sweater made for a climate where summer temperatures can be in the single digits on the Celsius scale!)
but still enjoyably breezy enough that one didn't actually sweat buckets on the
approximately 10 kilometer ride (and for some of the migratory birds to
remain to decide against flying off to cooler climes).

A
few people, some with pretty substantial looking loads on their
vehicles, appeared to be using their bicycles for serious purposes that
afternoon. For the most part though, the riders I saw along the way
looked to be leisure cyclists, even if some of them were kitted out like
they were taking part in a competitive bike race!

It's
been said of the Japanese that they get seriously costumed and equipped for
whatever leisure activity they take part in: be it golf, tennis,
mountain climbing, bicycling or what-have-you. From personal observation, I'd say
that this is true too of a substantial percentage of Hong Kongers. All
in all, both these cultures sure do seem to take play seriously: in
terms of wanting to (appear to) do a good job of it as well as being
willing to genuinely let their hair down when the time and opportunity
allows! ;b

Egrets do seem to be among the more graceful of birds. I think it's because they have such long necks but they also have the kind of air that makes it seem like they can rise above the mundane and chaotic! :)

Do you have a bike or is there a nearby place to rent bikes? If so do the rental places give you maps of different places to ride? Do you have bike riding attire??? Do people wear helmets like they do here?

I rent bicycles at shops near bike trails located in places like Tai Wai, Sha Tin and Tai Mei Tuk. They don't usually give you maps so I bring my own but it's difficult to get truly lost if you stay on the designated routes. And yes, some people wear helmets but I never have, to be honest! Also, I just wear things like t-shirts and cargo shorts when cycling... like I do when hiking! ;b